After the Christmas of 1953, a large dog like beast with a dark face was seen near the town of Bladenboro, North Carolina in the act of dragging a dog into the woods. The creature appeared to be the size of a man. The following day, when the dog was found, all the blood was drained from his body, but all the meat was on his body. In the next several days, many more attacks were reported. Word spread quickly that a beast

was loose in the town.

The Bladenboro Police Chief rounded up a posse of men to search a swamp area near the town. Nothing was found except huge footprints with marks of inch-long fingernails. More and more dead animals were found. People became scared, so they kept their dogs and children inside their homes and didn't go outside at night.

News of the beast sightings spread all across North Carolina newspapers. This small town was filled with thousands of professional hunters hoping to experience the thrill of catching the almighty beast. Business was booming at all the area's restaurants.

Mayor Fussell finally called the hunts off because he thought the woods were becoming too dangerous with so many people searching for the beast. When people refused to let the story go, the Mayor hung an oversized bobcat killed by a local resident and raised it on a flagpole in the downtown area. The Mayor sent pictures to all the newspapers with a caption, "THIS IS THE BEAST OF BLADENBORO."

Finally the police chief declared a dusk-to-dawn curfew, and eventually the fear of the townspeople became less and the killings eventually stopped.

Did this monster disappear? Some of the local people living in Bladenboro today said the original incident was blown out of proportion. Some people say there were and still are big cats in the Bladenboro area today.

Three years ago, the town of Bladenboro started an annual celebration called the BeastFest. It is usually held the last weekend in October. It is a day of good fun, good food and good entertainment.

— Chase Rheuark, 11, is a sixth-grader at Bailey Middle Scool in Cornelius. This was an assignment to write one page on any legend, monster or alien figure and to construct a replica of their monster/beast. Chase’s choice was to complete the assignment on the Beast of Bladenboro. He received a perfect score of 100. Chase is the grandson of Susan Stanley McCaffrey and the nephew of Dr. John Stanley, both originally from Bladenboro. He is also the great-grandson of the late Juanita and Herbert Stanley of Bladenboro.